Fat Acceptance

Everyone, please step back and repeat after me.

Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy. Not all fat people are unhealthy.

Continue repeating until you get it through your head.

Not all unhealthy people are fat.

But what about people who eat healthy food and are still overweight? It is about metabolism and everyone is different. When I was married I ate very healthy, all my grains and fruits and veggies and I walked and worked. My husband barely moved from the couch, scarfed down 5 burgers in a sitting and was thinner than me. Explain that? It is not the same as smoking! Well maybe it is. Not everyone who smokes dies of cancer or even has health probelms.

Mike, I could not agree with you more. I know someone at my office who got a handicapped parking decal just because of her weight, yet she comes in at 8 and has a 2nd breakfast consisting of donuts and bacon. (I'm not kidding. She sits across the aisle from me so I get to smell it.) Clearly she likes her handicap, but it doesn't get any sympathy points with me. I worked my tail off to lose 30 pounds, and I know I have a long way to go to lose the rest but I'm going to continue working on it 'til I get there. It's not okay to just give up and accept yourself as you are. If you stop working and growing, you atrophy. Simple as that.

I'm also concerned that certain groups of people want Americans to stay "fat and happy" and complacent so we don't question anything. Look at the food pyramid. It was geared not toward what was healthy but what was profitable.

HBO's "The Weight of the Nation" really opened my eyes. Some people prefer going through life with their eyes closed, and it really pisses me off. If I can put in the work, why do they feel exempt, or they "can't"? Fat is not healthy.

My two cents, for what they are worth- I have not read most of this crap because it will just piss me off. I have recently done some checking into and being overweight is not always the choice everyone thinks it is, I have 2 metabolic conditions working against me as well as genetic predisposition (and yes there is scientific fact to back up genetic predisposition). Granted my choices to eat what I wanted made me overweight, but there were other factors that played a role. Of all of the lifestyle choices that people choose out there being overweight seems to be the least acceptable and I am not sure why.

WHY DOES ANYONE CARE IF SOMEONE IS FAT? IT'S NOT HURTING ANYONE BUT THE PERSON THAT CHOOSES TO BE THAT WAY!

I DON'T THINK ACCEPTING SOMEONE FOR THE WAY THEY ARE IS CONDONING THEIR DECISION TO BE OVERWEIGHT!

This is a very friendly country. They like to accommodate everyone. When I first came to the US, I saw, that pretty much everything here is translated into spanish. Instead of people forcing to be integrated and learn english. I am from germany and a lot of turkish people live there but nowhere you will see translations into turkish. It's like, they don't give a sh... over there. (I don't know if thats good or bad.....) When a very obese person walks around in germany, everyone turns their heads or makes comments. This is very different over here. People have way more acceptance.

I think that may not about acceptance so much as people are accustomed to it. It's just not a rarity and so doesn't attract attention.

First of all, I believe fat people deserve respect. But to use your language analogy, there are significant differences between fat people and non-native English speakers.

Yes, in large cities there are attempts to accommodate people who are non-native speakers, but refusing to hire someone for a job in which English fluency would be required would not be discrimination and if you want to be a fully participating member of American society you would want to master English. You would certainly want your children to speak English fluently. It's also not your fault that you don't speak English fluently by reason of having been born elsewhere (although in fact many foreigners speak English beautifully).

I don't believe the point of "Fat Acceptance" is to promote getting or staying Fat. I understand it to mean not to discriminate. Not to judge. And that goes for self judgement and discrimination. We as a society tend to be focused on image rather than substance. I think if we all were kinder to ourselves and the people we come into contact with each day that is the acceptance we all should strive for.

WHY DOES ANYONE CARE IF SOMEONE IS FAT? IT'S NOT HURTING ANYONE BUT THE PERSON THAT CHOOSES TO BE

No matter what the FA people say, most obese people are not healthy, certainly not long term, and there are many obesity-associated medical conditions that are expensive to treat, for example, Tyoe 2 Diabetes, that insurance alone (if you have insurance) will never completely cover. We all end up paying. Most obesity is preventable.

People's genes have not changed in the 30, 40 years. Their habits of consumption and levels of activity have. I'm not saying i't's all their fault; there are many conditions that come into play, for example, the lowered cost of food that has led to overeating. Still, the individual has to play his or her role and "acceptance" is not the answer.

I wont get into my political beliefs but, there is a large population of people who are not obese that have diabetes, there is a large population of overweight people with insurance, and there is a large population of people with expensive health conditions that are not obese that we end up paying for.....

WHY DOES ANYONE CARE IF SOMEONE IS FAT? IT'S NOT HURTING ANYONE BUT THE PERSON THAT CHOOSES TO BE

No matter what the FA people say, most obese people are not healthy, certainly not long term, and there are many obesity-associated medical conditions that are expensive to treat, for example, Tyoe 2 Diabetes, that insurance alone (if you have insurance) will never completely cover. We all end up paying. Most obesity is preventable.

People's genes have not changed in the 30, 40 years. Their habits of consumption and levels of activity have. I'm not saying i't's all their fault; there are many conditions that come into play, for example, the lowered cost of food that has led to overeating. Still, the individual has to play his or her role and "acceptance" is not the answer.

I wont get into my political beliefs but, there is a large population of people who are not obese that have diabetes, there is a large population of overweight people with insurance, and there is a large population of people with expensive health conditions that are not obese that we end up paying for.....

--It is true that not everyone who has Type II Diabetes is overweight, but most are. They don't call it "Diabesity Syndrome" for nothing.

--Even people with insurance are subsidized by the state. Hospitals, medical treatments, insurance does not pay for everything.

--Everyone who ages gets ill, but it does make a moral difference if you are ill from a preventable condition about which you were fully informed for decades. Some people think that people should be able to do what they want, but if they make bad choices they should be required to pay for them. If people don't get control of themselves, that one day may be our system.

I don't believe the point of "Fat Acceptance" is to promote getting or staying Fat. I understand it to mean not to discriminate. Not to judge. And that goes for self judgement and discrimination. We as a society tend to be focused on image rather than substance. I think if we all were kinder to ourselves and the people we come into contact with each day that is the acceptance we all should strive for.

As with all movements, there's a range of views, but I definitely have seen my share of militant fat people who believe that to be 300 pounds is fine and it's for the World to adapt. No sane person would argue that being very overweight or obese is healthy. If I thought they were at least raising their children to be healthy that would be different, but the same bad habits are being passed down to the next generation.

If you understand that there's a range of views with all movements, why are you reducing this one down to the militants you've come in contact with?

Fat people know they're fat. They're not blind. To me, fat acceptance is recognizing the person within the person, and treating them with the same humanity we should treat all others. Be kind, as everyone is carrying within them a struggle.

Actually, I've read several times that some fat people do not recognize themselves as fat, which is part of the problem. The Fat Acceptance people (or some of them) want to introduce a new norm that is not healthy. There's a difference between demanding the basic respect due to any human and advocating that people should be like you, using the false premise that the way you live carries no health consequences.

Needless to say, I'm talking about people who have control over their weight, not people who are overweight because of a medical issue, medical treatment or medication.

I can say for myself that I didnt know I was fat. I was 18yrs old and a size 14 at 175lbs. It wasn't until my brother had a talk with me that I started getting more active. It took years of developing healthy habits before I found what works for me.

I don't believe the point of "Fat Acceptance" is to promote getting or staying Fat. I understand it to mean not to discriminate. Not to judge. And that goes for self judgement and discrimination. We as a society tend to be focused on image rather than substance. I think if we all were kinder to ourselves and the people we come into contact with each day that is the acceptance we all should strive for.

That's the way I understand it too.

I don't think I should feel less worthy as a person because I'm fatter than I was 10 years ago. And I don't think I should think other people are less worthy because they're fatter or thinner than me.

I'm getting the feeling that people are worried that fat acceptance means that people won't feel bad enough about themselves to diet and that this is a bad thing for their health. And even that it might go a stage further and encourage thin people to make themselves fat. But I don't think that's the danger that it might seem to be. For one thing, there is so much pressure to be slim, that I don't think it's going to be outweighed by a pressure to be fat any time soon. And I don't think that fat acceptance is the same thing as pressure to be fat anyway. It's about acceptance of fat people who are already fat, not encouraging thin people to become fat.

I'd guess that the majority of fat people do feel bad about themselves to some extent (it's difficult to avoid, with so much pressure to be slim). And the majority will not become slim and stay slim, however bad they feel. For reasons we maybe don't quite understand yet, it seems to be very difficult for people to do that. If somebody isn't going to be slim, then making them feel bad about themselves is only negative and not positive.

It's made me a little bit sad reading this thread, that even in a community where a lot of people must be overweight, fat acceptance is not the norm.

OMG everyone is judged and treated badly for something. When I was 115 pounds I had people add fod to my cart,I got passed over for jobs because they thought i wasnt strong enough to do the work. Strangers would come up to me to tell me about eating disorder hotlines. People would make eat a hamburger comments ect ect
when I was 230 pounds nobody EVER said anything negitive to me about my weight...not even once in the 4 years I spent at that weight.
Not to say it does not happen but i got more *kitten* for being skinny that I ever did for being fat.

One reason for that could be simply politeness. I've noticed that I heard more negative comments about fat people when I was slim than when I was fat. (I suppose people weren't afraid to say what they really thought about fat people to somebody who wasn't fat, and probably assumed I felt the same way). It's considered a bit insulting to tell somebody that they've put on weight, that they're looking fat, that they should eat less, etc. It's not considered insulting to tell somebody that they've lost weight, that they're looking thin, that they should eat more, etc. It's almost a compliment.

( I do hope you managed to take some action about being discriminated against at work though - that's serious.

Strangers giving you eating disorder helplines is really odd. If I was you that would have made me feel uncomfortable. I suppose it's not meant as insult though, just concern. )

For some reason reading this brought a question to mind... where do eating disorders come from??? What would make a person try to harm themselves to the point of starvation? Why would anyone feel they NEEDED to do that?? Why do people have trouble "eating enough calories to maintain weightloss? Why are they afraid of calories or gaining a single ounce??? I don't know why this topic and these replies should make me wonder these questions... but for some reason... they do...

I don't think making overweight a social norm is a good thing. Even though it's becoming more common, it is unhealthy and "not normal" from a health stand point. No matter how active or otherwise healthy an overweight person is, the extra weight puts undue stress on his/her joints which is surely harmful in the long run.

However, while I encourage society to reject obesity as a norm and strive for a healthy lifestyle, I support fat acceptance to the extent that overweight people should NOT be discriminated against or ridiculed. To me, being overweight is a physical condition, like any other (e.g. diabetes, paralysis or skin condition). Everyone has feelings and should be treated with dignity and respect.

No one should be obese, these people are fooling themselves into believing the size they are is OK. It isn't healthy. Coming from a person who's weight goes up and down (100% my fault) I know for a fact that I'm not as healthy when overweight.
There are psychological issues involved with being overweight and they should be addressed. If you can't do it on your own seek help.
It is a dangerous mindset and shouldn't be encouraged. When the news shows someone who is 100 plus years old are they obese? ... NEVER, that has to show something